Our friend Berta Freistadt, who has died of Parkinson's and cancer aged 67, was a lesbian writer, feminist, actor and teacher. A private person, with an intimate, flirtatious manner, she inspired love in those who knew her. She wrote plays, poetry, short stories, and a novel, with work published in anthologies, journals and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. She worked as an actor, director and performance poet in venues throughout the UK, and won prizes and commendations for her poetry.

Berta's collection Flood Warning, which explores the nature of love and identity, was published by Five Leaves in 2004, and more recently her poems have appeared in the magazine MsLexia and in Grey Hen's first publication of poems A Twist of Malice: Uncomfortable Poems by Older Women (2008).

She would say her greatest achievement was her book of visions and fairytales, Mass Dreams, in which the storytellers are the lesbians at the Eye the Girls café in Paradise. This haunting, complex work won the London Region of the Undiscovered Authors 2006 Competition. As Berta said: "I am now a discovered author!"

Berta's mother was of Irish-Scottish descent and her father was an Austro-Czech Jewish refugee. Berta was born in the north of England but grew up in London, attending Wimbledon high school, then studied drama. She went back to education as a mature student, getting an MA at the age of 50. Berta also taught drama at east London secondary schools, and a course on memoir, creative writing and poetry at the Mary Ward Centre at Birkbeck College, London. She had a loyal following of students, who came back to her classes year after year.

Published in numerous anthologies that arose out of the women's movement, her work, with its nuanced style and wry, humorous tone, punctured many orthodoxies. Dope Smoking Lesbians Can Never Be Good Teachers (1990) is a fine critique of romantic love. A Fine Undertaking (1984), ironically set in a funeral parlour, caused her lesbian audience to weep with laughter as she slyly parodied our political meetings. Berta was a must-have as a contributor to A Twist of Malice. Because of her increasing infirmity, she took part in only one of the readings, but it was a memorable night. Her poems will appear in further anthologies, and a collection is planned.

Berta was a generous friend, who would think long and hard about the "exact present" to give. She could even turn a trip to Ikea into a magical adventure. She is survived by her many friends, cousins in the US, and, not least, by her cat Mr Charlie-Bluebell.